Kylian Mbappé has broken his silence. The Frenchman, who worked on Tuesday at Valdebebas to recover from his injury even though the first team had the day off, has issued a statement through his circle to clarify the controversy surrounding his trip to the coast of Sardinia with actress Ester Expósito, a reason for anger among a good part of the dressing room, fans, and in some offices of Real Madrid.
"The recovery period is strictly supervised" by Madrid, his circle affirmed to the AFP agency on Tuesday, while criticism continued over his vacation images during the past week. The Frenchman landed with his partner at Barajas airport just 12 minutes before the start of the match for the white team against Espanyol.
Absent since April 24 due to an injury in the back of his left thigh, the French forward is doubtful for the Sunday's classic against Barcelona and will undergo various medical tests tomorrow on Wednesday and Friday to determine his condition for the match.
"Some of the criticism is based on an overinterpretation of elements related to a recovery period strictly supervised by the club, not corresponding to the reality of Kylian's involvement and work he does daily for the team," stated the circle of the French Real Madrid star in a statement transmitted to AFP on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa stated: "Each player, in their free time, does what they consider appropriate; that is not my concern."
"We have not built Real Madrid with players who play in tuxedos, but with players who finish the match with their shirts full of sweat and mud, based on effort, sacrifice, and perseverance," he added, in a thinly veiled reference —according to some observers— to the lack of effort in the pressure from the French national team captain, reiterating that "no player is bigger than Real Madrid."
With 41 goals in 41 matches, Mbappé is the most decisive player this season at Madrid, which, however, could experience its fifth season without titles in the 21st century after 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2009-2010, and 2020-2021.